COVID Outbreak: Miss World 2021 Postponed

The Miss World 2021 beauty pageant that was set to be held on December 16, has been postponed hours before the ceremony was scheduled to start.

This is coming after 23 participants tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement released hours before the pageant was due to start, organizers said they were rescheduling the televised finale, citing the “health and safety interest of contestants, staff, crew and general public.”

Malaysia’s representatives confirmed that their contestant, Lavanya Sivaji, was among those to test positive. In a statement posted to social media Thursday, the Miss World Malaysia organization said that Sivaji was in isolation but “clinically well.”

Here is the statement issued late Thursday:

After meeting with the virologists and medical experts hired to oversee the Miss World 2021 event and discussing with the Puerto Rico Health Department, the decision has been made by the organizers of the event to postpone the globally broadcast finale at the Puerto Rico Coliseum Jose Miguel Agrelot to be held within the next 90 days.

As of yesterday, additional safety measures were implemented in the best interest of the contestants, production team and spectators, understanding the event increased risks on the stage and in the dressing room.

However, after additional positive cases were confirmed this morning after consulting with health officials and experts, the postponement decision was made.

The next step according to the medical experts is immediate quarantine, pending observation and further testing according to best practices in situations like this.